Final Inspection
by Pagen Godess
Summary: The officer stood and faced his God. Which must always come to pass. He hoped his shoes were shining, Just as brightly as his brass.


It was going to rain soon. They'd be lucky to another hour of semi clear weather. Not that any of the gathered humans or Autobots really cared at that moment. They had come to lay one of their own to rest and to honor his sacrifice. The usualy small hillside seemed much small than usual thanks to the towering mech's and femme's. The only sound among the large gathering was Ironhides deep voice. Though many were still too grief stricken to actually listen to what the trigger happy warrior was saying.

Sam sighed as he let his eyes wander around the gathered group. If things had gone as they were supposed to then it would have been him they'd be mourning. But as his luck would have it, it wasn't him but another. Sam sighed a bit and leaned back until he was propped up against the foot of the mech behind him.

Bumblebee shuttered his optic's once and looked down at his young charge. Sam still looked so weak but his human had down right refused to stay in the med bay while he and the others had come to mourn. His human had the right to be here he supposed but he still didn't like it. He hadn't wanted Sam to come period but Ratchet had agreed to let him out for the duration of the funeral - for lack of a better word - so long as he took it easy.

Sam offered his guardian a small half-hearted smile before he looked back ahead of him. A shiver ran up the boys body and as if knowing he was getting cold Mikaela wrapped her arms around him. There were tears in her blue eye's Sam noted as he looked at her. And for half a second he could have sworn he was looking not at Mikaela's eyes but at a pair of dark blue optic's. The same optic's that now haunted his dreams along with the Decepticon's and the Fallen.

Sam swallowed as he looked away from his girlfriend and started looking at the various bot's that seemed to be creating a peremptor around them. He had to fight back the mad urge to shudder as his eyes rested on the pale pink form of Elita-1, Optimus Prime's sparkmate.

For it was Optimus Prime that they mourned over this day. Sam couldn't help feeling overwhelmed and for a moment he wished he hadn't come but it would have been an insult to the Autobot leaders memory to stay behind. Optimus had died protecting him from the Fallen. It had been Optimus who'd found and rescued him from the Decepticons after he'd been taken. And it had been Optimus who'd stood between him and the almost classical alien looking mech. He had fought to the death and there had been no All Spark to shove in this enemy chest this time.

He had yet to tell the others the truth about what had really happened that night. The only ones that knew the truth were Ratchet, Ironhide, Jetfire, Bumblebee, and Elita. They knew that he'd been there when Optimus's spark had faded. The only information they had lacked was about the battle and the off lining itself. Now here he stood almost two weeks later on the slope of a large hill.

Hidden inside the hill was a large underground vault with one purpose, to protect the fallen soldiers within. The inside was more of less a large morgue. Large cabinets held the off lined Autobots within until they could be reforged as was the custom on Cybertron. The large vault only held two mech's at the moment. Optimus Prime and Jazz. Sam almost jumped in surprised when the ground benith his feet shook. Looking up he watched as Ironhide made his way to stand beside his own bonded. A light blue femme called Chromia.

Sam straitened and pulled out of Mikaela embrace whispering something in her ear before he began moving forward. Mikaela placed a hand on Bumblebee's foot, a silent signal for him to stop. Every eye and optic watched as the young man moved with slow and probably pain filled steps until he stood in front of them.

Ratchet in particular watched Sam closely. He been one the first one to reach the area where Sam and Optimus were followed closely by Bumblebee and Mikaela. He known as soon as he gotten there that it was to late to save their Prime. Sam on the other hand had surprised his a bit. He hadn't known that the boy was there and for half a nano-klik he'd feared for Sam's life as well.

The boy had been leaning up against Optimus's shoulder with his eyes closed. It wasn't until his footsteps had caused the Sam to open his eyes and turn his head to look at him that he'd let out a sigh of releaf through his vents. The boy was injured but he'd live. The next few days had been painful one's what with repairing Optimus's frame before he was locked away to watching over Sam in his drug induced sleep.

Of course nothing had compared to a week later when Elita had arrived with a fully loaded Ark. He'd been checking the burns that covered most of Sam's left side when she'd burst in with Ironhide and Jetfire not far behind her. Bumblebee had jumped up along with Ratchet when the doors had opened. Elita had practically demanded to see Optimus's body and Ratchet hadn't been able to refuse her. Though the cry she let out upon seeing her fallen sparkmate had been enough to force Bumblebee from his humans side to be sure everything was all right.

Though none of them had expected Elita's anguished cry to cause Sam to move as well. It had shocked them all to see the small human standing there. But nothing compared to what had happened next. None of them had expected him to apologize.

"I'm sorry." It had been Jetfire that had broken their stunned silence.

"What for little one? As far as we know you have nothing to be sorry for."

Sam in response had just shook his head. His voice was quiet when he had finally spoken. "I couldn't help it. I tried to keep it from them but it didn't work." It took them only a nano-klik to realize what he was talking about. None of them had pushed the issue of what had happened after Sam had been taken. The evidence was easily enough seen on the boys skin and broken hand. they'd tortured him and he'd talked but none of them held it against them.

The Decepticons would have found out the secret the boy had been hiding eventually anyways. It wouldn't have mattered if Sam had talked or not.

"No one blames you Sam. And if anyone does them I'll shoot them." Ratchet had had half the processor to hit Ironhide then and there but he didn't because at the moment both his optic's were glued to the small human who was shaking his head back and forth.

"He was in my head and I couldn't stop him. I'm sorry." A very important peace of the puzzle had clicked into place at that moment and Ratchet had felt his whole frame shudder. The boy hadn't talked. The Cons had handed him over to Soundwave and the bot had read his mind. That had actually helped explain a lot of Sam's other symptoms. It explained both why he seemed so groggy and why it seemed like it was taking him longer to both think and answer questions. Then he realized something else and by the way the others had looked they'd realized it too.

Sam wasn't apologizing for letting the Cons find out what ever he had know. No. He was apologizing for Primes off lining. Because he had off lined protecting a very hurt and a very mentally disoriented Sam. The same human that had saved his life two years before. He had died repaying his debt.

Ratchet shook his head a bit trying to clear his processor. It wouldn't due to have him self slacking off when he was supposed to be making sure that Sam was going to be able to stay on his feet. He tilted his head down and focused his attention on the small human in front of them digging through his pockets. Ratchet had to wander if he was looking for what ever he had printed off of his computer that morning. It took the boy a few seconds to find what he was looking for.

Even two weeks after the aftereffects of Soundwaves mind reading had yet to fully wear off. Sam sighed in releaf when he pulled the paper he was looking for out of his right back pocket. For a second he'd been afraid he'd left it back at the base. Sam unfolded the paper and cleared his throat. He didn't speak before he held the paper up to his face and began reading. He didn't care if the other were listening or not because this wasn't for them but for Optimus.

The officer stood and faced his God.

Which must always come to pass.

He hoped his shoes were shining,

Just as brightly as his brass.

"Step forward now, Officer,

How shall I deal with you?

Have you always turned the other cheek?

To your church have you been true?"

The officer squared his shoulders and said,

" No, Lord, I guess I ain't,

Because all of us who carry badges

Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,

And at times my talk was rough,

And sometimes I've been violent

Because the streets are tough.

But I never took a penny

That wasn't mine to keep.

Though I worked a lot of overtime,

When the bills got way too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,

Though at times I shook with fear.

And sometimes, God forgive me,

I've wept an unmanly tear.

I know I don't deserve a place

Among the people here.

They never wanted me around

Except to calm their fear.

If you've a place for me here,

Lord, it needn't be so grand.

I never expected or had too much,

But if you don't… I'll understand!

There was silence all around the throne

Where the saints often trod.

As the officer waited quietly

For the judgment of his GOD

"Step forward now, Officer.

You've borne your burdens well

Come walk a beat on heaven's streets,

You've done your time in hell"

----------

I actually herd part of the poem on an episode of Extreme Home Makeover and it just struck me as something that I could see one of the humans or Autobots saying. Though I don't think Transformers have church's. I was actually planning on having Lennox or Sam be dead and having someone read it but them I thought about the new movie coming out. Sad as it is I kinda think Bay's gonna kill Optimus just so he can bring him back to life in the next movie so he can stay true to transformers cause aparently Optimus has nine lives or somethingseeing how you can't kill him. Well you can But he dosn't stay dead for very long. Anyways the poem is called Final Inspection and I have no idea who wrote it but its not mine. And neither are the Autobots.


End file.
